Transgender and gender expansive (TGE) individuals face multiple barriers to accessing health care, including higher rates of discrimination in health care settings, denials of care, limited provider knowledge, and lower rates of insurance coverage than the general US population. Further, transgender individuals report high rates of delaying care due to discrimination or lack of financial resources, and are more likely to delay care than their cisgender peers who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or questioning. Abortion and contraceptive care may prove difficult to access for TGE individuals who already face multiple discriminations; however, little data exist on experiences of TGE individuals who are at risk of unintended pregnancy accessing abortion and contraceptive care.

In order to address these gaps in research, we propose collaborating with an interdisciplinary team to conduct a series of 25-30 stakeholder interviews with individuals working in transgender rights and health, family planning, or abortion care and with TGE individuals who have accessed contraception and abortion services. Our team will include experts in public health research, provision of TGE health care including contraception and abortion services, and community education and activism. We will identify specific barriers and facilitators to reproductive health care within the formal health care system, as well as attitudes toward and priorities for abortion and contraceptive care for TGE individuals at risk of unintended pregnancy in the US. These interviews will help better understand the landscape of reproductive health access in TGE care, and identify areas of future research with TGE communities.